Our Team, Our Newsletter, and How Grandpa (actually) got Hacked

Protecting your digital life has never been more critical, especially if you are over 60.  In the FBI’s 2023 Elder’s Fraud Report, individuals aged 60 and above reported losses exceeding $3.4 billion to the IC3, an almost 11% rise compared to 2022.

Our Team: 

The “Grandpa Got Hacked" newsletter is crafted by a team of grandkids boasting over ten years of experience in IT and cybersecurity. We share trending cybersecurity news, emerging threat patterns, and effective prevention strategies, with the goal of empowering our grandparents with knowledge, thereby reducing their vulnerability to scams and cyber attacks.

PS: We love saying “a team of grandkids” as it makes us feel young. 

While our newsletter is called 'Grandpa Got Hacked' (more on the story that inspired the name later), we welcome anyone who wants to stay informed on cybersecurity trends and tips to sign up for our newsletter here.

Grandmas, we haven’t forgotten about you! You can access our newsletter through both granpagothacked.com and grandmagothacked.com.

Our Newsletter: 

Our newsletter is free and concise, sent in bite-sized emails so that our readers, especially those born during WWII and not in the .com boom, can stay informed. 

Content includes: 

• Trending Cyber Attack News

• Emerging Threats

• Cybersecurity Terminology 

• Prevention Strategies

Share a Story! - If you or someone you know has been hacked or compromised, share your story! We are always looking to raise awareness within our community about current scenarios. Subscribe and reply to any of our emails to get in touch.

Sponsor a Newsletter! - Subscribe and reply to any of our emails to get in touch.

The Name and How “Grandpa got Hacked” 

During a transitional period between tech jobs, our founder Nina, a Georgia Tech engineer, took a few months off to live with her grandparents, aiming to disconnect from the tech industry, spend quality time with them, and save money (who are we kidding with this inflation?).

Nina’s grandparents, Grandpa “Abu” (86) and Grandma “Ela” (82), are the tech-savvy type grandparents. Abu manages online banking, Zoom meetings, YouTube, emails, and WhatsApp, while Ela excels in creating online photo albums and indulges in one-click purchases on Amazon.

One night, Grandpa clicked on a link from a suspicious text message, which inadvertently triggered an app download allowing the hacker to take over his WhatsApp and number. The next morning, Grandpa informed Nina of the incident. Realizing his number was compromised, Nina promptly alerted close relatives with a “Grandpa got Hacked” message. However, the damage had already spread; the hacker had targeted Grandpa's contacts using the same strategy. 

Nina was taken aback by the frequency with which hackers targeted her grandparents' phone numbers and emails, almost as if they had been singled out as "easy targets." Sending "Grandpa got Hacked" alerts to relatives became routine for her. It became evident that action needed to be taken to educate grandparents and others about personal cybersecurity. And that's when this newsletter came to life!

The Grandkids!